The General Assembly of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) fully reinstated the status of the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees. Restrictions on the two countries’ committees were imposed due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Ukrainian authorities criticized the committee’s decision.
Shortly after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Russian Paralympians were banned from the Beijing Games. Later, in 2023, the IPC suspended the membership of the Russian and Belarusian committees.
Reinstating their national committee status will allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Paralympic Games and other competitions under their national flags and with other national attributes.
This means that Russian and Belarusian Paralympians will be able to participate in the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Italy.
For the past several years, Russian Paralympians have only been able to compete in IPC-sponsored competitions as individuals and as neutrals.
The decision to fully reinstate the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees was made following a vote at the IPC General Assembly, which is taking place in Seoul. In the first round of voting, 111 delegates voted against the full suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee, with 55 voting in favor. In the second round, 91 delegates voted in favor of lifting the Russian Committee’s partial suspension, with 77 voting against.
The Russian Paralympic Committee called the General Assembly’s decision fair.
“The IPC has recognized that the RPC is conscientiously fulfilling its membership obligations as established by the IPC Charter. This is an important contribution to the development of the international Paralympic movement and an example of how athletes’ rights must be protected without discrimination based on nationality or political affiliation,” the Russian Paralympic Committee press service said in a statement.
However, as the RPC noted, Russian athletes currently competing in the World Athletics Championships in India will continue to compete only in the individual event and as neutral athletes during these competitions.
Last week, the International Olympic Committee announced that athletes from Russia and Belarus will be allowed to participate in the 2026 Winter Games, to be held in Milan and Cortina from February 6 to 22, under the same conditions under which they were admitted to previous Olympics since the outbreak of full-scale war—that is, as neutral athletes, and they will only be able to compete in the individual event.
Fifteen Russian athletes competed at the Paris Games as neutrals. Athletes who publicly supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will not be allowed to participate in the Olympics.
Ukraine’s Response
Ukraine reacted with outrage to the International Paralympic Committee’s decision.
Ukrainian Sports Minister Matviy Bedny stated that those who voted for this decision at the IPC General Assembly in Seoul betrayed “their conscience and Olympic values.”
However, he noted that the decision on which countries will participate in the six sports on the Winter Paralympic program is made by the international sports federations, which have not yet lifted the ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“The position of the host country and the Organizing Committee is decisive, and we are already working closely on this issue,” Bedny stated.
He added that Ukraine’s decision on participation in the Games will be made later.
